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Digging for The Truth on Site C Dam Job Numbers

Nov. 16, 2017 - Site C jobs are often cited as a main reason to proceed with the $9 billion dam on B.C.’s Peace River. But how many jobs would Site C actually create? Are there really 2,375 people currently employed on the project, as widely reported this month?

DeSmog Canada dove into Site C jobs numbers. We found dubious claims, political spin, and far too much secrecy.

Number of direct construction jobs BC Hydro said Site C would create in March 1991: 2,182 [1]

Number of Site C direct construction jobs promised by Premier Gordon Campbell in April 2010: 7,650 [2]

Number of Site C direct construction jobs promised by Premier Christy Clark in December 2014: 10,000 [3]

Workforce at peak employment at the W.A.C. Bennett dam, B.C.’s largest dam, in the 1960s: 3,500 [4]

Workforce at peak employment at the Peace Canyon Dam in the 1970s: 1,100 [5]

Number of pages redacted from the B.C. Liberal government’s response to a 2016 Freedom of Information request asking for documents related to Site C’s job creation figures: 880 [6]

Time it took to receive the request: 11.5 months

Number of pages with redactions in BC Hydro’s 692-page response to a 2017 Freedom of Information request asking for daily worker headcounts at Site C: 692[7]

Date BC Hydro said it did not have daily and weekly headcounts for Site C workers on the project site or staying at the workers’ lodge: October 12, 2017 [8]

Number of people BC Hydro’s Site C main website page says were employed on the project in September 2017: 2,375 [9]

Number of Full Time Employees (FTEs) among them: unknown

Minimum number of days a contract worker must be employed to be included in BC Hydro’s monthly Site C jobs tally: unknown

Approximate number of direct construction contract workers included in the September 2017 Site C workers tally: 1,164 [10]

Approximate number of other contract workers included in the September 2017 Site C workers tally: 750 [11]

Number of engineers and project team staff, including at BC Hydro’s head office in Vancouver, included in the September 2017 Site C workers tally: 461 [12]

Number of workers laid off at the Site C construction site in August 2017: 120 [13]

Number of workers laid off at the Site C construction site in September 2017: approximately 200 [14]

Number of workers laid off over Thanksgiving weekend, 2017: approximately 60[ 15]

Number of workers laid off in early November 2017: approximately 30 [16]

Mentions of the layoffs on BC Hydro’s website: 0

Current number of Site C workers according to Liberal MLA Mike Bernier: 2,400 [17]

Cost of Site C in 2010: $6.6 billion

Cost of Site C in 2012: $7.9 billion

Cost of Site C in December 2014: $8.8 billion

Cost of Site C in November 2017: potentially more than$10 billion [18]

Date BC Hydro filed a quarterly report with the B.C. Utilities Commission saying Site C was on budget and on track to meet its 2024 completion date: September 29, 2017 [19]

Date the BCUC released a report saying it is not persuaded Site C will be finished on time and that the project is over-budget with completion costs that could exceed $10 billion: November 1, 2017

Date the B.C. government will make a final decision about Site C: beforeDecember 31, 2017